Early Chinese in Sonoma Lecture and Film

Sponsored by the Sonoma Valley Historical Society: Lecture by Dr. Pedter Meyerhof with showing of film "Murder at the Chinese Laundry".

Tickets are $10.00 and are available by registering in advance with the QR code below. This event will sell out.

The history of Chinese in Sonoma is one of inclusion and exclusion and although the Chinese residents of Sonoma Valley left no written record of their history, it is captured by the census records (that are notoriously incomplete), governmental proceedings that discuss labor and agricultural issues, newspaper articles, and personal stories of community members. Important and unique are 1867 photos by Eadweard Muybridge in which the Chinese were not necessarily the photo subject but they capture the story of Chinese vineyard and winery labor in Sonoma Valley.

Eadweard Muybridge photographed Buena Vista vineyards and winery extensively in 1867.  Included in his photos are Chinese laborers. The Sonoma Valley Historical Society’s archives also contain photos of laundries and the Sanborn Insurance maps list numerous Chinese businesses in the town of Sonoma.

Chinese immigrants came to California in response to economic and political turmoil in China including:

• Two Opium wars 1839-1842 and 1856-1860 between the Chinese emperor and the British who were driven by the desire for economic expansion into China

• The Taiping rebellion civil war in China that lasted from 1850-1864

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